Earth- Caring for Creation
God, our Heavenly Parent, made the world with so much love! It is so beautiful! What is your favorite thing in creation? To show our love and gratitude for the beautiful things God made, we can be a helping hand by putting our love into action and taking good care of Creation.
Educational Framework: Heart for Creation
“Earth- Caring for Creation” Unit: Spring into Growth
LESSON PURPOSE: He's got the whole world in His hands! Focusing in on the “3rd Blessing” of taking care of Creation!
MATERIALS: Globe or map, Picture Book, learning toys, craft supplies
BOOKS: Earth day Everyday Lisa Ballard, The Lorax by Dr. Seuss & other Stories about Creation, Earth, God’s World, Earth Day.
SONG IDEAS: He’s Got the Whole World, Country Roads, All the Lands That I Loved Song of the Garden, The Giving Tree
SENSORY CENTERS:
Earth Day Sensory Bin: green rice & blue noodles, animals, plants, flowers
Earth Day Play dough: mixing green & blue playdoh into balls to make the Earth!
Recycle Bin Sorting: trash, recycle, compost bins sort
SCRIPTURE: Display the weekly scripture reading, have an older child read it or use it in the lesson as you like.
"God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." -Genesis 1:28
“To care for and love the environment is to love God. With our spiritual eyes opened, we can see that a single dandelion is more valuable than the gold crowns of kings” - True Father
INTRODUCE the Lesson:
WELCOME: SONG, PRAYER, TP Greeting
SONG IDEAS: He’s Got the Whole World, Country Roads, All the Lands That I Loved Song of the Garden, The Giving Tree
REVIEW & TRANSITION:
Last week we learned all about flowers and what they need to grow! Ask children: What do flowers need to grow? What do we need to grow? Great! Flowers are a beautiful part of God, our Heavenly Parent’s Creation. True Father once said: “With our spiritual eyes opened, we can see that a single dandelion is more valuable than the gold crowns of kings” and that “To care for and love the environment is to love God.“ Today we’re going to learn about our role in caring for God’s beautiful Creation!
ATTENTION GRABBER: choose 1:
Show a Globe, Map or Atlas. Ask children about what they see. Point out that blue is water, green is land. Let children touch the globe one at a time. Show them where you live and talk about how God made the whole world, planet Earth, for us! Happy Earth Day! Optional Sing “He’s Got the Whole World”. Mention that on April 22, children all around the world will be celebrating Earth Day together!
Small white boards or drawing pads. Let each child draw their very favorite thing in Creation (a kind of plant, flower, tree, animal…) and share it with the class!
INTRO:
What are some things that Earth gives us? Water, food (farms), shelter (trees), gardens, oceans, forests, animals, fruits, plants… beautiful Creation! Wow aren’t we lucky to live in such a beautiful and abundant place? Today we want to discuss ways we can help take care of God’s beautiful Earth!
CHOOSE 1 OR 2: READ A STORY, SING A SONG OR POEM, WATCH A VIDEO: *Use this before or during your teaching point.
VIDEOS: click on the link for educational, sing along or dance videos
EDUCATIONAL:
Earth Day: The Environment and our Planet in a Song for Kids! by PlayKids for younger children
Science Video for Kids: How to Take Care for the Environment by Turtlediary for older children
SONGS:
If You’re a Kid- Earth Day Remix Dance Song by Harry Kindergarten Music
He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands Animated Sing Along by SingHosannaVEVO
READ ALOUD VIDEO:
*Earth Day Every Day by Lisa Bullard
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (longer story)
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein Animated Read Aloud
SONG OR POEM:
Earth is in our Hands He’s Got the Whole World We have the whole Earth in our hands! We have the whole Earth in our hands, The whole Earth is in our hands!
...We can plant trees on the Earth
...We can recycle trash on the Earth.
...We can save water on the Earth.
Help Our Earth Are You Sleeping?
Reduce, reuse, recycle. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Take care of the Earth. Take care of the Earth. Turn off all the lights. Throw away the trash. Recycle and reuse. Recycle and reuse. Turn off all the lights. Throw away the trash. Recycle and reuse. Recycle and reuse.
*TEACH the Lesson:
Discuss the following points together, asking children questions, drawing pictures, using anchor charts or post it notes.
TEACHING POINT 1: Take Care of the Earth
In Genesis 1:28, God asks us to have dominion over creation- to take care of the World our Heavenly Parent gave to us. (This is known as the 3rd Blessing.) There are some things we do that help the Earth and some choices we make that are not good for the Earth. True Father says that “To care for and love the environment is to love God.” We can show God our gratitude and love for Him by being a helping hand and being kind to all of Creation by putting our love into ACTION!
Love Our EARTH: Discuss ways to help the Earth! Draw and create an Anchor Chart as you discuss, or show sample pictures.
Plant Trees & Flowers (clean air)
Take good care of Animals, rescue animals (be gentle & respectful, take care of pets)
Clean Up! Pick up trash.
Save water (Turn it off while brushing your teeth)
Save energy (Turn off lights, tv when not in use.)
Walk, ride a bike & Carpool more (less pollution)
REDUCE. REUSE. RECYCLE: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Song by CBM Rincon de Seca Science
REDUCE: Use less of something.
Turn off lights & water
Give away toys you don’t play with to a child who would enjoy it, donate old clothes.
REUSE: Use something again.
Refill a water bottle, use fabric totes for shopping, use tupperware.
Re-purpose items, reuse toilet paper rolls for a craft, turn a milk jug into a watering can.
RECYCLE: Making new items from old ones.
Bottles, paper, glass, cans, plastic, cardboard.
TEACHING POINT 2: PALM SUNDAY *OPTIONAL EXTENSION
Did you know today is Palm Sunday? The Sunday before Easter is a most wonderful day when the Israelites welcomed Jesus into the city with beautiful big Palm Branches! Usually when a King arrives, the Israelites laid down palm leaves as well as their own jackets on the ground so that the King’s feet & Donkey’s feet don’t get dirty. (Like a red carpet). They welcomed Jesus as a King entering his Palace and showed him respect & adoration with the palm leaves while singing “Hosanna!”
Activities:
Palm Parade: Have children do a parade holding “palm leaves”, making a road with their jackets and singing a Hosanna song around the classroom. Practice walking with respect and big smiles, waving the palm leaves proudly to welcome Jesus as we prepare for Easter. Children can take turns walking on the road being Jesus or a donkey.
Hosanna Song: Ho-Ho-Ho Hosanna, Ha-Ha Hallelujah, He-He-He-He Saved Me, I’ve Got the Joy of the Lord!
Palm Sunday Relay Race: See game directions here
Palm Sunday Pinterest Board: click for more crafts & ideas!
CONCLUSION:
God, our Heavenly Parent, made the world with so much love! It is so beautiful!! What is your favorite thing in creation? (animals, sky, grass, veggies...) In the 3rd Great Blessing, He asks us to be good stewards of the Earth and take care of it. Let’s appreciate God’s beautiful creation and remember to do our part! To show our love and gratitude for the beautiful things God made, we can be a helping hand by putting our love into action!
TITHING & PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Parent, We thank you for Earth! Thank you for the trees, flowers, oceans, animals, palm leaves! Thank you for food, water and energy. Thank you for taking such good care of us. We want to do our best to take care of this Earth and keep it beautiful and clean! Amen! Aju!
APPLY the Lesson:
GROUP ACTIVITIES: choose 1 :
In Action: practice washing hands & turning off water while scrubbing soap, turning off lights, walking outside, watering flowers etc.
Nature Scavenger Hunt: Go outside & have a nature scavanger hunt!
22 Earth Day Games: click on the link
Sort garbage @ church: recycle, trash, compost
Sorting Game- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle sort
CRAFTS: choose 1
Coffee Filter Earth- On coffee filters, have children drab land globs with green markers and colors in the rest of the Earth with blue markers for water. Spray each child’s filter with some water! Watch it spread & let it dry to create really neat 2D globes! Great collection for a new bulletin board! “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands!” ;)
DIY Bird Feeder- string cheerios on to a pipe cleaner. (Make it into the shape of a heart) Tie on a ribbon to hang in your trees at church or to take home!
Newspaper Art- Have children cut out shapes from newspaper & paint it and glue it on a pieces of paper for a collage reusing and repurposing materials!
Paper Bag Crown- Cut strips out of a paper bag. Give it a fringe to create a grass look. Have children color it green & decorate it with bug, flower stickers.
Plant a Seed- Provide each child with a small pot (or cup), some dirt, a shovel (or spoon), seeds and watering can. Have children decorate their flower pots & plant seeds! Water them regularly, give sunlight and have children watch them grow at home or in the class!
SNACK IDEAS:
Fruit Trees: give each child pretzel sticks & green grapes and ask them to form a tree!
Lorax Clementines: Add googly eyes & yellow mustaches to clementines.
Dirt Cups: chocolate pudding covered with oreo crumbs & gummy worms. Yum!
Enjoy the lesson! Feel free to submit photos to lgavin@unification.org Love seeing lessons come to life and each community
